Single Reviews – Page 62 – Country Universe

Single Review: Alan Jackson, “You Go Your Way”

August 15, 2012 Ben Foster 5

You know the country music market is in sore straits when a career-best effort from Alan Jackson dies outside the Top 20 on the charts. It’s easy to wonder if, after more than two decades of populating country airwaves with quality material well-sung and tastefully produced, the hits may finally be drying up for Alan Jackson. That would be a huge shame, because finely polished country tunes like current single “You Go Your Way” are becoming increasingly rare on country radio, with Jackson having been one of the last nineties veterans standing who was still able to sneak such efforts into the playlists.

Single Review: Taylor Swift, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"

August 14, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 69

Building a Taylor Swift single around the vocal is like building a hamburger around the bun.

Single Review: Dierks Bentley, “Tip it on Back”

August 9, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 7

He’s been doing a lot of these songs lately, to the point that the law of diminishing returns is inevitable.

Single Review: Andy Gibson, "Summer Back"

August 6, 2012 Ben Foster 26

Coming on the heels of Top 30 debut hit “Wanna Make You Love Me,” Andy Gibson’s new single “Summer Back” continues to build him a reputation as a cliché machine.

Single Review: Randy Rogers Band, "One More Sad Song"

August 5, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 13

One more bad song, really.

I get that all those eighties hair bands had the big guitars come in at the chorus when they tackled the ballads. I also realize that for them, impassioned yelling was how a rocker showed he truly felt what he was singing.

Single Review: Dustin Lynch, "Cowboys and Angels"

July 29, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 3

If this was released twenty years ago, it wouldn’t catch much attention amidst the wave of hat acts attempting to break through.

Released in today’s climate, Dustin Lynch’s “Cowboys and Angels” sounds almost revolutionary in its retro feel. It certainly doesn’t sound like anything else on country radio today. Between Lynch’s baritone vocals and the High Noon production, it’s a somewhat theatrical record, like something you’d expect to hear at the O.K. Corral a century and a half ago.

Single Review: Toby Keith, "I Like Girls That Drink Beer"

July 25, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 8

An awesome throwback that recalls the great class-crossed lovers anthems without borrowing too heavily from them.

Single Review: Luke Bryan, "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye"

July 24, 2012 Ben Foster 7

The makings of a solid country song are scattered about on this new Luke Bryan single, but the song has been nearly polished to death.

Single Review: Jake Owen, "The One that Got Away"

July 22, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 6

It took me until nearly the end before I realized who Jake Owen was reminding me of on this one.

Single Review: Joey+Rory, "When I'm Gone"

July 20, 2012 Ben Foster 9

No doubt, Mr. and Mrs. Feek are very busy people these days as they host their very own variety program The Joey + Rory Show on RFD-TV, while also preparing to release their third studio album His and Hers on July 31. The first single from the project is the piano-driven ballad “When I’m Gone” – a narrator’s wistful meditation on her future death, as well as its effect on the one she holds dear.